Unwanted pitch bend in Live 8

Firstly, I tried registering as a "new" user in the forum in order to ask this but was redirected to the home page each time.

I've been using Ableton Live for several years and have recently encountered a new [to me] problem that I can't seem to find the answer to.

I'm running Live 8.2.1 along with an Akai MPK49 controller for firing samples and playing a few software synths (as instrument channels) in Live. I get MIDI clock from our drummer who's running an Akai MPC 500. He sends me clock via the MPC 500 MIDI Out and I receive the MIDI In through a NI Audio Kontrol interface which connects to my MacBook Pro (2.53 GHz, 8GB RAM, 250GB HDD with 85GB unused) USB.

Only recently (within the last few weeks) when he sends me MIDI clock the pitch bends (warps, shifts) slightly up and down whether firing a sample or playing a softsynth. The instant MIDI clock is stopped the sound goes back to normal, no bending or shifting.

7 answers

scottiedo

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72 answers 73 votes received

1 vote

Pitch bend is a CC. Which means the MPC 500 is continuously sending a change or the signal is somehow being altered on it's way. I would try using different components first. Swap out your NI interface with something else. Swap cables. Try to get another laptop to send you clock to and see if it happens. Hopefully that will find your broken link.

3 years ago|
0 comments

mentalflow

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3 answers 3 votes received

1 vote

*{skip to only bold of*** @ bottom for a solution to my similar problem}*

simple solution.............. I was practically driven insane by this exact problem yesterday. I, today, instead of trying to continue composition with the current synth, started complicating/adding other synth lines and repeated parts of the pitchedly F'd up one. The problem seemed to disappear (I created a cool composition that I enjoyed listening to all the way through ovr n ovr during the making tweeks phasezzz)...UNTIL I started tweeking pitch bend with another synth. . . . . ......agghhh... the last bar of one of the synths went out of tune.......................errrrrrrrrrrr"Y"?

([{I started thinking the problem was in the fact that I was cloning or cutting and pasting AND THEN manipulating the clip's MIDI data... WHY!?!?!?!?!?!?!? idk... F' ableton, but *sigh* I D K................problem solve mode... (keep in mind that I was currently in a faster paced mental setting and I wasn't nearly az frustrated as the previous night)

well... opening a new live set then re-opening the current project, swapping between "not saving"and "saving as" 'n' trying new fixes was my approach... checking all modulated and automated parameters on the F't Clip....... Conclusion Concieved: Ableton is glitchy and I h8...oh w8... let me check the modulation on the pitch bend modulation envelope of the clip previous...

"yeah there is a massive gap between the clips in the arrangement view..... but the last value of the previous clip could pooossssssiiiiibbbbbllllyyyy effect (incorrectly) the next clip containing no modulation change."

and there it was... (not obvious at first) {modulation un-manipulated and visibly depicted that way in the current clip, but stacked points created by the pencil tool of the previous clip. maybe......}[ableton should havelast point in mod/auto "line" even if stakt b'cuz drawn by pencil {in this case zero} az default] experimentally I unstacked them, zero obviously being the last point of the clip (of the line...it already was, but the points were stacked so it was apparently canceled out and retardedly overruled), and ....problem solved. no more (incorrectly)influenced pitch bendage by one (unnecessary) adjustment to the preceding clip.

***make sure the modulation [or maybe automation as well {though automation is visable, and I'd assume u'd'ah chekt that}] parameter envelope ends on the value in the previouse clip where you want your next clip to start (no stacking points) {and check automation if your using it in the f't parameter, though that effect has visual rep}.

I don't know if stakt modulation f'S up shit a lot in ableton, all I Knowz iz that this solvd my pridiCKament.

hey, just wanted to say this problem is basically the bane of my existence on ableton...random pitch shifts with no apparent cause. sometimes exiting and reentering the program helps, sometimes not. tonight i'm working on something where it keeps happening randomly, but usually on the first run through it sounds right, just once i replay the recorded track its off (pitch is shifted up...horrible). so I just recorded the problematic synth as an audio track, and now have a stable clip that always sounds right. not a solution to the problem, but a possible workaround to anyone interested.

I found the root of the problem (i think). If you stop in middle of automation/(maybe modulation), when you restart the song, the automation is not reset unless there are drawn in points (if you want it zero at the beginning, draw in the points). It will not follow automation/(maybe modulation[havnt checked recently]) until it hits an input point.

or just make it an audio track if you arn't going to rub it wetter anytime soon.

2 years ago|
0 comments

mentalflow

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3 answers 3 votes received

1 vote

freeze/unfreeze in what effect... reverb, delay, any?

I'll keep this in mind and give it a shot if I re-experience this problem soon.

9 months ago|
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benjammin100

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1 answer 0 votes received

0 votes

Thanks for the answer! I'll try those things.

3 years ago|
0 comments

Bass_Gorilla

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1 answer 0 votes received

0 votes

Freeze then unfreeze worked for me.

1 year ago|
0 comments

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